Most conferences kickoff with an opening general session. Why? What’s the point? What’s the purpose of a general session? Back To Presentation Basics What’ the purpose of a speaker for any presentation? Nancy Duarte, author of Resonate says it best, Presentations are most commonly delivered to persuade an audience to change their minds or behavior. … [Read more…]
Most conference expense budgets are tight and limiting. Technology innovations, including Skype, Snagit, DIY screen capture and affordable video editing tools, can help you bring more thought leaders to your conference experience. Increasing Conference Value With Professional Speakers Professional speakers are often the most remembered, valued and polished elements of a conference. Typically they are … [Read more…]
You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” In the case of the majority of speaker marketing videos, it’s true! According to research by VCC and Tagoras, meeting professionals consider the speaker marketing video the most important sales tool available. More than a book, social media presence, blog or one … [Read more…]
Imagine for a moment that you’re preparing for a presentation for an upcoming conference. Close your eyes and visualize that your audience appears to be actually sizzling in their seats with enthusiasm. They are on fire for your words. Creating Audience Combustible Motivation Now imagine you have that same experience every time you present. This … [Read more…]
Recently, Velvet Chainsaw partnered with Tagoras, Inc., a leading continuing education company, to survey conference professionals about their use of speakers. One question asked respondents to share their biggest pet peeves regarding professional speakers. 15 Guaranteed Ways Speakers Destroy Their Marketing Strategy Here are their top 15 most disliked pet peeves about professional speakers. 1. … [Read more…]
Dare to color outside the lines. Have the courage to take risks. Let go of outdated, dead sacred cows. These were just a few of the overarching themes from Experient’s e4 2011 Conference “Outside the Lines.” Bye, Bye Breakouts! Hello Innovation Labs! The Experient team always delivers a stellar conference that’s engaging. They are willing to … [Read more…]
Most organizations receive hundreds of emails and phone calls asking about their speaker call for proposals. In one of my past jobs, we received 30-50 inquiries a month from professional speakers trying to land a speaking gig. And we were flooded with industry speaker requests as well. We hated those inquires. They were like speaker … [Read more…]
Does your organization have any meeting planning practices that are sacred cows? Don’t you wish you could grind them up for a barbecue? Well, it’s time to kill those traditions and make way for new, emerging ideas. e4 2011 Innovation Labs Recently I attended Experient’s e4 2011 conference, “Outside the Lines” as one of their … [Read more…]
There’s good news, and there’s bad news, on the horizon for meetings and events. Take a look at these statistics released from current research reports. 1. Meeting Spend Up; Satisfaction With That Spend Down Meeting spend was up 22% for 2010 as compared to 2009. Yet, 66% of respondents say that their number one concern … [Read more…]
Dear Conference Organizer: You are not your audience. You are not your customers. Yes, you have your own preferences, your own likes, your own tastes. But you are not planning that event for yourself. And what you like is probably far from what your audience likes. You have to get out of your own mind. … [Read more…]
